Members of the general population are exposed to non-persistent insecticides at low levels. The present study explored whether environmental exposures to carbaryl and chlorpyrifos are associated with DNA damage in human sperm. METHODS: Subjects (n 5 260) were recruited through a Massachusetts infertility clinic. Individual exposures were measured as spot urinary metabolite concentrations of chlorpyrifos [3,5,6-trichloro-2- pyridinol (TCPY)] and carbaryl [1-naphthol (1N)], adjusted using specific gravity. Sperm DNA integrity was assessed by neutral comet assay and reported as comet extent, percentage DNA in comet tail (Tail%) and tail distributed moment (TDM). RESULTS: A statistically significant increase in Tail% was found for an interquartile range (IQR) increase in both 1N [coefficient 5 4.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.96.3] and TCPY (2.8; 0.9 4.6), while a decrease in TDM was associated with IQR changes in 1N (22.2; 24.9 to 0.5) and TCPY (22.5; 24.7 to 20.2). A negative correlation between Tail% and TDM was present only when stratified by comet extent, suggesting that Tail% and TDM may measure different types of DNA damage within comet extent strata. CONCLUSIONS: Environmental exposure to carbaryl and chlorpyrifos may be associated with increased DNA damage in human sperm, as indicated by a change in comet assay parameters.

Members of the general population are exposed to non-persistent insecticides at low levels. The present study explored whether environmental exposures to carbaryl and chlorpyrifos are associated with DNA damage in human sperm. METHODS: Subjects (n 5 260) were recruited through a Massachusetts infertility clinic. Individual exposures were measured as spot urinary metabolite concentrations of chlorpyrifos [3,5,6-trichloro-2- pyridinol (TCPY)] and carbaryl [1-naphthol (1N)], adjusted using specific gravity. Sperm DNA integrity was assessed by neutral comet assay and reported as comet extent, percentage DNA in comet tail (Tail%) and tail distributed moment (TDM). RESULTS: A statistically significant increase in Tail% was found for an interquartile range (IQR) increase in both 1N [coefficient 5 4.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.96.3] and TCPY (2.8; 0.9 4.6), while a decrease in TDM was associated with IQR changes in 1N (22.2; 24.9 to 0.5) and TCPY (22.5; 24.7 to 20.2). A negative correlation between Tail% and TDM was present only when stratified by comet extent, suggesting that Tail% and TDM may measure different types of DNA damage within comet extent strata. CONCLUSIONS: Environmental exposure to carbaryl and chlorpyrifos may be associated with increased DNA damage in human sperm, as indicated by a change in comet assay parameters.

OPUS Help

OPUS

OPUS (Open Publications of UTS Scholars) is the UTS institutional repository. It showcases the research of UTS staff and postgraduate students to a global audience. For you, as a researcher, OPUS increases the visibility and accessibility of your research by making it openly available regardless of where you choose to publish.

Items in OPUS are enhanced with high quality metadata and seeded to search engines such as Google Scholar as well as being linked to your UTS research profile, increasing discoverability and opportunities for citation of your work and collaboration. In addition, works in OPUS are preserved for long-term access and discovery.

The UTS Open Access Policy requires UTS research outputs to be openly available via OPUS. Depositing your work in OPUS also assists you in complying with ARC, NHMRC and other funder Open Access policies. Providing Open Access to your research outputs through OPUS not only ensures you comply with these important policies, but increases opportunities for other researchers to cite and build upon your work.

OPUS archives UTS research submitted for Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) and Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA). It also stores digital theses and forms of scholarship that do not usually see formal publication.

How can you deposit works in OPUS?

When you claim (or enter) your research in Symplectic Elements, simply upload a copy of your work which can be made openly available. Symplectic provides information on which version of your work to upload. If you are unsure, please supply a copy of the Accepted Manuscript version. Ensure you check the box to "agree to the OPUS license terms".

Once uploaded, your works are automatically sent to OPUS and placed temporarily in Closed Access until reviewed by UTS Library staff.